Southern Weddings

When you combine pretty pink, peach, and white Camilyn Beth dresses with sparky La Tavola linens and a beautiful backdrop compliments of the amazing Umstead Hotel, you get a lovely party. Add in a bow tie bar, the Hot Dog! Photo Booth, and few fun surprises, and you get one amazingly sweet Southern celebration! I am not quite sure how, but it seems that each year, our launch party gets better and better. We look forward to this special night for most of the year–after putting our hearts and souls into the pages of our latest issue, it is such a joy to celebrate with friends and family from near and far!

Big hugs to Millie Holloman and her team for all of these precious photos!

The amazing Rhiannon Bosse of Hey Gorgeous Events, a dear friend of Southern Weddings (and the mastermind behind the beautiful florals on the cover of V7), reached out soon after she returned home from the Bushel and a Peck shoot in August, asking what I thought about helping her surprise the rest of the team AND do the florals for the party in November. Of course, I was 100% on board! I can’t believe we managed to keep it a secret from everyone else for nearly three months.

Yes, this is Mr. Brandon Kloess, live and in person!!! After patiently waiting 4+ years to FINALLY meet our sweet Marissa’s darling gent in real life, we were thrilled for the chance to give him a million hugs and take photos to memorialize the special event. Of course, MAK + BDK’s darling Emerson wore her biggest bow and best party dress for the festivities. Aren’t they the cutest little family?

We pulled in a few reinforcements at check-in to give everyone ample time to celebrate. I spy sparkly letters that helped make the entry table lovely!

We also brought a fun and fancy “beau bar” to life with the help of our friends at High Cotton Ties, and set out some really amazing magnetic buttons from Belle & Union. Not having to poke holes in your party attire? The best!!

Before the doors opened at 7:30, we had a quick team huddle. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and fun, so it was important for us to take a few deep breaths and thank our lucky stars for the chance to hug 300+ friends and celebrate love, marriage, and all the peachy goodness of V7!

Once the doors opened, the hugs started flowing! Besides BDK, a few other special SW family members in attendance were Emily’s darling sister, Kim, who flew in from Boston, and my parents, who traveled up from Gastonia to finally meet the SW gals in person. It was a big ol’ SW family reunion!!

I told you the Hey Gorgeous blooms were swoon-worthy! I think we can also agree that James and the Eventful Furniture fellas outdid themselves. All the lounge spaces were amazing–the perfect combination of cozy meets posh!

There was no shortage of delicious bites and beverages, thanks to the amazing Umstead Hotel! We used the pages of V7 for inspiration and created a menu that left partygoers with happy hearts and full bellies. From mini chicken and waffles to bite-sized ham biscuits, there was a smorgasbord of Southern delicacies. The Umstead chefs pulled out all the stops–pulled pork sliders, sweet potato chips, mini chicken pot pies, and so much more! There was also plenty of Cheerwine and Cheerwine Holiday Punch on hand to help wash it all down.

Hopping on the stage and being able to personally thank all of our guests is always a highlight of our evening. Big hugs to Maghon Walker for being our Ustream Hostess, which let faraway friends join in the festivities. It is quite humbling to have the chance to express our gratitude and tell our story! I get a little teary all over again just thinking about that moment.

Lara’s darling daughter Grace (don’t you love seeing how much Gracie grows from launch party to launch party?) stole the show with her speech, which she had practiced for days–she thanked everyone for coming to her “lunch party!”

The Bloomsbury Boys definitely know how to work the room and include the guests in the fun! No one is surprised that I jumped at the chance to play the washtub, right?

Natalie of Chic Sweets and her darling husband traveled all the way from sunny Florida with a car full of treats to put together the prettiest pink dessert table. While there were takeaway bags with peachy stickers to make to-go bag for the road, I think most of the goodies were gobbled up during the evening! I can personally vouch for the cake pops, and I heard great things about the dipped Oreos (when I went to the sweets table to snag one, they were all gone!!).

If the list of savory treats had your mouth watering, hang on tight! The list of sweet treats included everything from hummingbird cake to lemon-raspberry bars, plus chocolate s’more tarts and a pile of the always popular red velvet cupcakes. Shame on anyone who left this party hungry!

When we dream up products for the Southern Weddings Shop, we focus on creating things with heartfelt purpose and meaning. We loved having the chance to introduce the newest shop products in person and give guests an opportunity to do a little early holiday shopping (and save on shipping!). We are in LOVE with our laser-cut wooden “Southern Weddings” sign, compliments of our friends at Southern Fried Paper!

As guests were leaving, they snagged goody bags full of treats from a few of our favorite friends! The bags included “Sweet as a Peach” cups from Haymarket Designs and koozies from High Cotton, yummy organic popcorn from Cosmos Creations, Sugar Confetti Shop confetti, and custom calligraphy note cards from All She Wrote Notes!

It’s safe to say that the party was sweeter than a peach. And the chance to take a picture of ALL of the Southern Weddings gals with ALL of our gents? Priceless! Thank you so much to everyone who celebrated with us from near and far, and for your love and support of the Southern Weddings mission and of V7. We love y’all more than all the biscuits in the world!

P.S. Don’t miss tagging yourself in the Hot Dog! Photo Booth photos on Facebook!

Millie Holloman, Eventful Furniture, Chic Sweets, Southern Fried Paper, and Hey Gorgeous Events are delightful members of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Written with love by Kristin